All Things Snow

Warm winter greetings! I love this time of year! I tend to overwhelm myself with creative projects and can't always accomplish everything I want to, but that's ok because I thrive on being overwhelmed and I DO accomplish a lot! This holiday season I've made a commitment to host a "Snowflake Card-Making Event" on Sunday, December 9th from 11am-1pm. I have no clue whether anyone will attend the event but at this point it really doesn't matter. I'm planning for participants and following through with the prep-work. The snowflake-themed cards below are my 'samples' which are on display at Funky Junk on the Ithaca Commons, where the event will be held. If all else fails, I've got a very good start on my OWN holiday cards!

My second commitment for this month was to register to sell my handmade items at a craft fair on Thursday, December 13th from 11am-2pm. This isn't my first craft fair, although it's been a few years since I prepared for my last one. More on this in a future post! For the moment, my mind is focused on the above!

Red Lead Inspires Me!!

Red Lead PaperWorks is sponsoring a challenge on Facebook during the month of November 2012 and since I LOVE their word stamps (among many other cool items they sell!), I decided to create and submit the following four cabinet card pieces. They supplied the cabinet card downloads and I supplied the rest, while using their lovely word stamps! Of course, I want MORE MORE MORE of their stuff!!

Beautiful Autumn!!

I love this time of year! It inspires me!!

My slightly pathetic (unattended) flower pots are still blooming...at least til the frost hits them!

The first strawberry plant that I've ever tended to! It even produced edible berries!

Our little Mickey Moo is growing fast! He's the BEST for hours and hours of entertainment! We find the need to use a spray water bottle on him a lot because he jumps on the Goldens' faces, legs, tails, etc and makes them whimper :( but other than that, he's a fine Tom Cat!

Each time I visit this blog, I remind myself that I need to update it MORE OFTEN. Holy cow, I've done a ton of crafting and other stuff since my last blog entry in July! Unfortunately, I've neglected to take pics of 99% of the things I've created!

A card I made for my son, Adam's 31st birthday on September 20.

He knows I love him more than life itself!!

A promised photo (mentioned in my last blog entry) of Donor Family Quilt #4...it's now complete...at the time of this photo it was in need of two more squares and sandwiching and tying.

The very bottom right-hand square of Quilt #4 is for my son, Jase. As of his August 18th birthday, he would be 34 years old. Seventeen years spent laughing, living and loving him, seventeen years spent missing him each and every day. I wish I could receive one of his hugs just one more time.

And another promised photo from my last blog entry . . . Molly's dress (on the right). This is a pic of Mollie and her best friend. Mollie is my highschool girlfriend, Ellen's youngest daughter. She told her mom that she would attend the prom IF Ellen made her dress...Ellen wasn't all that confident in making it on her own. She felt like she was imposing upon me by asking . . . all I can say is NO WAY! I have no daughters to make pretty prom dresses for and I was HONORED to be asked to help make this dress! Plus, it gave me hours and hours of precious time spent with Ellen!  I even got the pleasure of 'visiting' the prom for a brief period of time when parents were allowed to come!! This is the kind of stuff memories are made of!!

xxx ooo--Barbara

The newest member of our family, Mickey, adopted on July 11, 2012. He's just a little guy, too young to eat on his own so I'm feeding him kitten formula with a tiny bottle.

How About a "D"??

I'm lagging a bit behind on my alphabet project . . . February was A-B-C, March was supposed to be D-E-F, April was G-H-I, May was J-K-L . . . you get the picture. Presently, E and F are sitting on my work table staring back at me and saying "Come on! You can dooooo it!" D took very little time and effort and sort of appeared before my eyes. For some reason, E is NOT cooperating. I AM determined though . . . I started this adventure and I WILL finish it. :) Sooooo, D = Domestic Goddess. I like the thought of each of us being a Goddess of one type or another . . .

Meanwhile . . . I'm still in "sewing theme" mode. The card below sits on top of my computer at work. The little "O'Susannah's" sign was just something I was toying with since I sold some cards to Sue at O'Susannah's. Under that it's stamped "The Nimble Thimble." These Art Impressions rubber stamps are FUN. There are different themes like candy shoppe, coffee cafe, etc. that you can use with the door and window stamps and there are holiday scenes, too. Of course, I want them all so I can mix and match the various little parts.

Projects-in-progress . . .

Donor Family Quilt #4 . . . is complete, except for creating and sewing the label to the back, AND, I completed it in less than a year! There's a storybook that goes along with it that needs finishing, too. Photos to follow . . .

Tim Holtz Configurations Print Tray . . . I'm in the process of cutting scrapbook paper to line each individual box. Will post photos soon . . .

Sew Crazy

It's been a creative spring for me . . .

1. I created a baseball-themed baby quilt, crib skirt and bumper pad for my cousin's new baby boy, Giovanni. :) (must get photo!)
2. I made 50+ pairs of earrings and sold 20 pairs to Elberta at Rolling Hills Produce (she and her hubby sell wayyyyyy more than produce) and she has also purchased my handmade cards in the past.
3. I helped my highschool friend, Ellen, make a prom dress for her daughter, Mollie. That was soooooo much fun, especially since I have no daughters to make prom dresses for! I also had the joy of going to the prom with Ellen to watch the promenade--parents and guests were invited for a little while! (scroll down to the bottom and see the photo)
4. I made kitchen, dining room and bedroom valances for a cousin's friend's lake house and had the pleasure of seeing them hung :)
5. I made the cards below and sold them to a local quilt store, O'Susannah's in Watkins Glen. This is the 3rd year Sue has purchased my cards. :) Can you choose a favorite?? I love the House Mouse stamp designs but really can't choose a fav because I love them all!
6. In the middle of all that, I acquired (and survived) an upper respiratory infection and slept a LOT! :)

Mollie dressed in the prom dress her mom and I made . . . on the right.

A, B, C and Beyond

A, B, C . . . This is a year-long project/challenge that I'm working on for a group called "Artistic Alphas" on Kim's Paper, Digital, Art and Images web forum http://artandimagesbykim.ning.com/ . Each piece is 6x6 inches and by the time I complete 26 of them for each letter of the alphabet, I'll need a box with wheels on it to store them in...or maybe I'll create some sort of wall art with them. I have lots of time to think about it...